Elmore Leonard Books

This novel is my fourth by Elmore Leonard: I have a great admiration for his style and ability as a writer. This one in characterizations resembles
"Get Shorty". He sort of has the decadence of modern America where priests, lawyers, Gangsters and police seem to leave ordinary people very little
of the pie. The anti-hero is a man who pretends to be a priest, but is actually a small time hood. He runs into the rule that you sometimes become what you are pretending to be, while falling for a female stand-up comedian who is also a tough semi-hood who works for lawyers.
Money for the orphans comes between them...

The book was mediocre at best. You think it would be hard to turn such dramatic events into such boredom, but apparently it is possible. Their is no suspense, I wonder what is going to happen next, at all. Read it if you have nothing else to read, that is why I read it.

This is my first Elmore Leonard book. I picked it up for fifty cents at our local library's book sale after deciding, at that price, I should read at least one of the renowned storyteller's books.

Leonard keeps the action at a fairly taut pace, though this book never had me racing through the pages. Famed for his dialogue, the dialogue is mostly witty and real, though I think his attempt to create standup comedy for one of his characters fell a bit flat, at least with me. The story certainly teeters on the edge of implausibility at points, but manages, for the most part, to keep its grasp.

The plot becomes thicker and more complex until the last few fifty or so pages, when things unwind fairly quickly (and predictably). The characters we meet along the way are pretty original and serve the story well. The most interesting character is Mutt, a misfit employed by Detroit's mafia who manages to be stupidly cunning and is used very entertainingly by Leonard. Besides Mutt, the most engaging aspect of the book is the romantic tension between Debbie and Fr. Terry Dunn. Leonard handles the relationship lightheartedly and well.

The tie-in to Rwanda is laudable in that it undoubtedly increased awareness of their horrible recent history at the time Leonard published this book and is, particularly in light of the current situation in Kenya, worth remembering. However, Rwanda is primarily a backdrop in which Terry makes brief appearances. The story is a Detroit mafia story.

If you enjoy quick reads with good dialogue, but not much "literary" heft, I think you'll get your fifty cents worth. If you prefer the latest winner of the Booker to the latest John Grisham, then I can only offer Pagan Babies, with caveats, as a change of pace.

The description sounds cool, right? Con man, Africa, the Detroit mob - all mixed up into a "witty, fast-paced" book? Not so. Pages and pages of repetitive dialogue, boring details, and conversations that add nothing to the storyline. I found myself skipping ahead several times to get past the fluff. Even the meat of the story is rather second-rate. You keep hoping that it'll get exciting, pick up the pace a bit, but are disappointed. Anyone accustomed to good work by Frederick Forsyth, Ludlum, Michael Connelly, David Baldacci or John Grisham will be sorely disappointed. Please look elsewhere.

In 'Pagan Babies' Elmore Leonard takes the reader from post-genocide Rwanda to mobbed up Detroit and back again. Leonard's writing here meets or exceeds his usual high standards for gritty and sardonic wit and intricate plot and then there are the characters who people his plot. Almost without exception, every character in the book is playing an angle of one kind or another - if not several angles.

Rich characters - there's 'Father' Terry Dunn returned from Africa to 'raise money for orphans' (the pagan babies), and ex-con with a schtick and a scam named Debbie Dewey, plus several Detroit Italian mobsters, a Hoosier hick hitman, not to mention several very bad banana-beer swilling men in Rwanda and 47 unburied bodies in Father Terry's Rwaandan church.

Steve Buscemi (Sopranos, Fargo) excels on the audio version.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy Elmore Leonard, crime/mystery or just a good story.

1990's "Get Shorty" is half Hollywood parody, half crime thriller in the usual Elmore Leonard vein. Ironically, while the famous movie adaptation got the crime story right somewhat at the expense of the show-biz angle, Leonard's book shines brightest when he's taking on movie making.

Chili Palmer is a self-described shylock who chases a debt runner from Miami to Los Angeles, just a few steps ahead of a dangerous mobster still sore at Chili for punching him out over a stolen coat years ago. There Chili falls in with schlock-making producer Harry Zimm and Harry's ex, scream queen Karen Flores. The three find themselves with a hot property they want to produce into a film, if only they can get star actor Michael Weir, short in size but long in stature, to play the lead.

The first time I read "Get Shorty", it seemed unusually confusing for a Leonard book, very non-linear in the way it unfolds. Reading it again, after having seen the movie, sorted a lot out. The maze-like storyline zags along nicely, the zingers are funnier, and the trademark Leonard voice really comes through.

"I'll make you a deal," Palmer tells one goon who's leaning on Harry for a piece of his dream project. "If you can get out of here before I take my coat off, I won't clean the floor with you, get your yacht-club outfit all messed up."

It's the Hollywood angle that really shines here, Leonard no doubt returning some favors. Weir, when we meet him, turns out to be a typically self-centered product of a culture whose main export is narcissism. At one point, an agent notes Weir is a notoriously risky casting choice because of his propensity for backing up on his commitments.

"I love him, but he's worse than Hoffman and Redford put together," she says.

Sure, the only shooting movie people do is with cameras and paint guns. Still, characters like Michael's agent are plenty ruthless, plotting the destruction of entire careers over lunch simply so their star can have a fresh script to toss away next week.

Another nice aspect to the book is the way it plays to the make-believe nature of the business in its very plot. Reality becomes a flexible thing in "Get Shorty", and in both directions, people talking about how to fix the ending of the movie idea they have even as they consciously relate that idea to the life they are living.

"Get Shorty's" main weakness is an underdone crime story, revolving around a bag inside an airport locker that's a MacGuffin for some backstabbing and bloodshed. The movie made this work by playing more for laughs. The book's version is funny, too, just not as much, with Chili a harder guy than the movie version.

What isn't a problem is Leonard's slightly gonzo take on Hollywood culture, a dream factory that mutates into something surreal and vindictive while remaining gaudy and bright. It's not a bad place to make a living, in the end. Just watch your head.

Get Shorty Maybe it was the movie?
The bad guy gets the movie star and goes straight in a crooked way?
Unexpected moves and plot twists that are poetic justice
make this novel very strange, yet likable.
Elmore Leonard is a plot master who seems to have humor and understand hard characters and hard ways.
Most people don't like wise guys ( but love their style?)
and we almost like Chilli Palmer by the end,
but compared to earlier work this comes up shorty.

I never received the book from "bordeebook". I'm sure I'll eventually receive credit for the purchase, but I doubt that I'll receive credit for the postage and handling. I am not at all impressed by this vendor.

An excellent read. If you enjoy the movie, then pick up the book.

I loved the movie Get Shorty, as well as the other Leonard books that have been turned into movies (Rum Punch, Out of Sight), so I had to try out this book. It's a great read and much of the snappy dialoge from the movie is taken right from the book's narrative. The dialoge works great both on screen and in the novel.

I appreciated the subtle differences in the plot line between the movie and the book, and the differences were enough to keep me interested in the book despite knowing much of the movie by heart. Leonard is a master at writing dialoge. He uses grammar that precisely captures the way people speak, and each character has a unique way of talking that is personally identifiable.

The character descriptions were so similar to the movie that I had to wonder if Leonard wrote the novel with certain actors in mind!

I recommend this as a companion to the movie. They can be enjoyed together as the same story via two different mediums, each with its own richness.

After shooting his way through Prohibition in "The Hot Kid," US Marshal Carl Webster returns for another adventure during World War II. Carl is married now, but his wife Louly is a Marine gunner, who is currently at a base teaching new recruits. Carl is still living in Oklahoma, but heads for Detroit as soon as he is able when some German POWs escape from a camp near his father's pecan farm. Carl knows Jurgen Schrenk, who spent most of his childhood in Detroit, still has friends there, so Carl heads north to apprehend him. Once there, he meets Honey Deal, the ex-wife of German sympathizer Walter Schoen, who is a dead ringer for Heinrich Himmler and a little too proud of it. Carl believes Walter is hiding Jurgen and another escaped POW, Otto Penzler, an SS officer. Carl is a lucky man, and things usually go his way, but he has to tread very carefully on this assignment because he finds himself incredibly attracted to Honey Deal, who makes no bones about being very attracted to him. He made a promise to Louly on their wedding day, but Honey is a temptation he can barely resist. Meanwhile, Walter has decided he has a special destiny to fulfill, and draws his German spy ring friends into the plan, even though all of them are rolling their eyes over it.

As usual in an Elmore Leonard novel, we are treated to the inner thoughts and points of view of every character. It's especially well-done in this book, from the self-important Walter who bores everyone, to the hard-drinking Vera Mezwa and her creepy cross-dressing sidekick Bohdan. Most interesting and amusing was the prevailing attitude of the supposed German sympathizers who have largely grown bored with the Nazi agenda. Everyone is up to something, and their motivations all converge at the climax of the story, with Leonard's typical ironic touch. He has a way of making events come full circle that leaves me thinking about it with a smile for days afterwards.

I have been a huge Elmore Leonard fan since I first picked up Maximum Bob several years ago, and this is the best book he has written in years. It's better than its prequel, The Hot Kid, though I give Mr. Leonard kudos for bringing two different facets of American history to vivid life through the life of Carl Webster. It's almost impossible to describe the subtle way in which he breathes life into his characters and weaves his story through them, but I'm hooked! Elmore Leonard is the king of modern crime fiction, and this book is another jewel in the crown.

Elmore Leonard has written at least 40 novels. Published last year in hardcover and being released this month in mass market paperback, Honey is among the best--if not the best, just because it departs from the customary. It is different from his past work in the sense that it is set in the last days of WW II and the characters include a supposed Nazi spy ring and two escaped German POWs. What is familiar is that it takes place in Detroit and U.S. Marshal Carl Webster returns, seeking to recapture the escaped prisoners.

A review can't capture the delightful story of Honey and do it justice. Just read the novel and enjoy the inventiveness, humor and writing of Elmore Leonard.

This was my first novel by Elmore Leonard. I was taking a few flights and the first of which had a 4 hour lay-over so I finished the book I had and picked up Up in Honey's Room. I read it everywhere I went, and as a testament to to how good it is- after getting to my final destination with a 5 and a half hour car ride home, I sat in the airport to finish the book.
I feel a lot of others covered the plot, but as someone who can't compare it to Leonard's work, amazing dark humor and very pulp material.

Kept waiting for the action to really heat up but the author seemed far too concerned with the 'atmosphere' he was creating to carry the tale along. And Detroit for a setting? Lame. It was my first Elmore Leonard book after being urged by friends to give him a try. Guess I tried the wrong book? They'll probably make a movie out of this one (as they did with Leonard's other books), and that might be better to wait for as it will only take up 2 hours of your time and the visual of the characters might add something to the story's more sexual and deadlier moments.

I'm sorry to be so negative about one of my favorite writers, but this just doesn't cut it. The book is set in the late forties and has the makings of interesting relationships (something Leonard excels at), but it never gets going. The plot bogs down and it's the same hip dialog that we've seen in many of his books, but here, it seems that he is putting the words into the mouths of his characters instead of letting them speak for themselves. So, what should flow naturally from the characters only ends up sounding forced. As for what actually happens up in Honey's room, I really can't say because I never got past page 100. Life is too short to waste time reading a stinker like this one.

Elmore Leonard has been lauded as America's greatest living crime writer and having read all of his crime books, I can see why. However, Bandits is clearly not one of Leonard's better works. Leonard claims that he never knows how his books will end, that he lets the characters lead him. In the case of Bandit's it they do not lead him to any strong finish. The characters are always the best part of any Leonard novel, and this cast is rather boring.

In an earlier review, a reader commented that this was an "issue" book and cited both Pagan Babies and Cat Chaser as being in the same category. While Pagan Babies (an excellent read) and Cat Chaser (also good) may have both had issues or causes woven into the story, neither of these suffered from the boring cast of characters and slow moving plot that Bandits did. Fortunately this kind of disappointment is rare with Leonard's works.

Superficially, "Bandits" is a caper novel, and not a particularly good one. What saves it is Leonard's characters and especially their dialog. Ignore the plot -- Just sit back, relax, observe, and in particular listen to the characters.

.............crummy books, you can add this one. Three stars because of the cute writing. The story line sucks.

Drawn by the setting of New Orleans, I gave this one a shot. Decent refernces to businesses and landmarks, but HORRRIBLE plot line. (Unless, again, I'm missing something here...) Seems like Leonard had a gun to his head to finish this book, quickly! I've read Delillo, Pynchon, Sandford, etc...and recommend ANY of them over what I saw from Leonard here.

I enjoyed this quick little read; Jack Delaney, out of Angola for 3 years and working as a mortuary assistant, longs for something more. He meets an interesting woman, who turns out to have formerly been a nun in Niceragua. She doesn't necessarily come out and say she supports the Sandinistas, but she is DEFINITELY opposed to the contras, who recently attacked and destroyed the leper colony she was working in (well, more of a leper hospital, but same idea, I suppose), killing many of the patients in the meantime. The attack was precipitated because she has helped a young woman, who came there to be treated, to escape from the Dagoberta something (I can't remember his name without looking it up, sorry), who is a general with the contras and wants the young woman dead because she has leprosy and he is afraid she has given it to him. Lucy (the nun) takes the young woman to America, but is followed by the general, who is also taking the chance to raise money for the contras. People with memories of the 80s will definitely understand all the politics that goes on; I certainly did, but then I was raised by a rabid anti-Communist father, so he made sure all of us kept up on the actions in any countries who were under that terrible reign (<--- Irony). At any rate, I enjoyed this as I have enjoyed all of Elmore Leonard's books to date. It is dense, but short and an easy read with enjoyable characters (my favorite was Franklin de Dios, a native of Niceragua/Honduras). Give it a try.

Another of Leonard's fast paced, witty and charming mysteries accompanied by a cast of charcters who mix, at times, like oil and water. Nevertheless a wonderful read and funny as all get out!

Only in latter-day America could a pure hack like Elmore Leonard earn praise from supposedly serious critics, who, like the popular culture they represent, have sunk to levels that would have been unimaginable a generation ago.

Leonard is a commerical writer trying to appeal to the airheaded, politically-correct prejudices of the kinds of "hip" upper-middle-class urbanites and suburbanites who, for example, read the editorial pages of the big metro papers (and write their book reviews) and imagine this kind of thing has something to do with reality or something to do with literature. The characters, dialogue and situations Leonard is noted for in fact ring false on every page. These are the same kind of caricatures and sitcom-esque back-and-forth that could only fool the demographic I just described, that is, people who know nothing about the sub-culture, the legal system, the South, and the other things this poser pretends to be telling them about (to make them feel better about their own pointless collective existence, I suppose).

The worst offense among the lit-pimps are the comparisons of Leonard to Raymond Chandler (a true great), which are simply insulting on every level. Please add a little bit of sanity to this world and go re-read one of Chandler's classics yet again (or, if you like Florida as a setting, read John D. MacDonald, the best of the Chandler imitations) rather than waste time or money on this tone-deaf sleaze merchant, who quite typically pounds out another one of these modern-day pulp jobs about once every other month.

Crisp, punchy dialogue -- twists in plot that will keep you guessing -- sharply drawn fascinating characters -- and a gator! This is Elmore Leonard at his best. In case you are curious, the title refers to a judge whose proclivity is for giving the maximum sentence allowed by law. Highly recommend this book.

I picked this up after watching Beau Bridges play Maximum Bob in the short-lived TV series, which had amazing razor sharp wit, and subtle irony. It is a sorry statement about the intelligence of TV viewers that it was cancelled and now we have "reality TV." The book was not as sharp as the TV show, which really refected Leonard's zany wit, but I probably liked the book more than I would have on it's own because it reminded me of the great show that I can't see any more.

Judge Bob Gibbs, or, as his friends call him, "Big," is known for handing out the maximum sentence for even the pettiest of crimes. Kathy Baker is a probation officer who runs into the hard-nosed judge while working on the case of Dale Crowe, a punk kid who can't keep out of trouble. Gibbs has always had girls on the side since his wife has become more and more distant over the years, and is interested in Kathy from the get-go.

A live alligator ends up in Gibbs's yard one day, prompting a police investigation, with any number of suspects, including Dale Crowe's mischievous uncle Elvin, who was sent to prison by Maximum Bob, and just recently released. Along the way, we run into a whole cast of colorful Floridian characters from the seedier side, including an unlicensed dermatologist and his Cuban houseboy - both mischievous in their own ways.

Elmore Leonard has a keen ear for dialogue and, in my opinion, is second to none in today's crime fiction writing. His characters are society's outcasts: criminals who can't stay out of trouble because they are just too stupid. But he treats them with full attention, and they never act out of character; everyone's got their motives, it's just a matter of who can outfox the others by being less incompetent.

I've read 20 of Elmore's 40 books, and thus far, Gold Coast remains my favorite. I find the bad guy in this particular book endlessly facsinating and hilarious!

Elmore Leonard's Gold Coast starts out solid, but weakens about half way through. This plot had so much potential that it made the ending an even bigger let down than if the book had been mediocre all the way through.

The first half is likely to hold your interest and the characters are quirky, strong, and solid. But mid-way through there is a lot of repetition and the sense that it should be coming to a conclusion long before this. You just want it to move on. But there is a sense that with such a good set up it is worth hanging on for what you expect to be a fantastic finish.

But, alas, all that glitters is not gold and the ending is extremely disappointing. I was expecting a great twist and something unexpected and creative. Instead, it was as if Leonard was tired of the whole thing himself and just stuck an ending on because he didn't want to make the effort to come with anything good.

I would recommend reading it; it is entertaining if somewhat redundant and slow toward the middle. But plan to be disappointed as you finish it up.

This one got off to a great start and I loved the Florida setting, with the protagonist being the half hearted worker at the Seaworld-like park. The story builds quickly, the dialogue is great and you get ready for another Elmore Leonard wild ride, but then it just fizzles. It really comes off to me as a rough draft. If not for the order of printing, I'd believe it was a first version of Tishomingo Blues or Maximum Bob. The plot just gets too twisted for no reason and the reader loses interest, which should never happen in such a short novel. I was anxious for it to end, not to find out what happens, just so I could go to the next novel.

Considering the ending, I don't really think the blurb on the back fits the story, but more the way it should have been.

Like many Leonard novels, this one had a great beginning, great introduction of characters, etc. but it just fumbles apart by the end. There's so much pointless and confusing plotting in the last 50 pages that I got tired of trying to figure out what was going on. By the end, none of it mattered anyway. Still some good parts and funny exchanges but I have a hard time recommending it. It's disappointing to spend time on something like this and get cheated with a slack ending.

A Review by Amanda

When Karen DeCilia was widowed for the second time her husband wanted her to be with no one else. So he put a clause in his trust saying she couldn't sleep with any other man. If she did break this factor of the trust she would never receive another dime of his money, the cars, or the estate. In her way is a man named Rowland he wants to ruin it all. She needs Maguire's help, an ex-con, to find a way around Rowland.

I really didn't care for this book very much. I didn't like how the pace of the book was
slow and boring. There weren't many, if at all, any real suspenseful parts. The characters never really evolved into anything. Such as Karen she was just a rich girl trying to get out of her late husbands tight hold on her. But that was about it. There was a lot of mention of this girl named Vivian, but it truly never explained who she was or what significance
she was to the story. It was a very difficult story to follow and not a fun read at all. The story never evolved into something interesting. It was just a boring book to read.

I recommend you avoid this book. It wasn't any fun to read and had no climax that was interesting. Someone who might enjoy this book is a person who can follow a story really well or just wants to read a book by this author.

One of Elmore Leonard's best stories (and I've read them all).

Set in The Middle East (Israel), this story moves along at an excellent pace, and (as usual) EL's characterizations are superb.

"Rosen", A man on the run, discovered by the unfortunate timing of a newspaper photograph,......and here come the killers.

His only hope of making it to safety with his skin (and a small fortune) intact, lies with a bored U.S. Marine, sick of embassy duty, and ready to rock & roll.


"They" need to make this into a film, with Colin Farrell as our leading man, James Caan as Rosen, Jason Statham and Ving Rhames as the "bad guys", with Keira Knightley as Rosen's Sabra Girl Friday....One reviewer mentioned the perfect fit with a Tarantino film...I couldn't agree more....

This novel, though, stands on it's own quite nicely.

Elmore Leonard's THE HUNTED gives us an education in being the prey of some killers bent on destruction and revenge.

We learn a lot from protagonist Al Rosen's philosophy of life, his new philosophy of just accepting whatever happens. We learn to reject his naive philosophy as Detroit hit men track Rosy through the desert in Israel and pin him down in a house.

Lucky for Rosy, he's got a Marine on his side. And from him we learn the most. Come fully armed to any confrontation with killers. Concentrate on a plan of attack. Don't philosophize. Instead, pick your targets carefully and kill them immediately. Or else, you will lose any advantage.

Finally, Leonard's tale repeats a lesson found in many westerns. Women are useless in a crisis. They either break down in tears or they cop out immediately and leave us all alone.

Of course, Leonard admits they can offer some pleasure in our idle moments, but he urges it's best to rent them and not buy them.

Wonder what my wife would think of that lesson.

by Larry Rochelle, author of the thrillers BLUE ICE, GULF GHOST and DANCE WITH THE PONY

This book is pretty entertaining. The story is interesting but not super. Leonard's strength seems to be in his character development and crisp dialogue. There's not much to write about this book that is deep and insightful. If the story sounds interesting and you like Leonard you won't be disappointed.

Al Rosen stuck his neck out to help the government put some goons in prison, only it didn't go according to plan. Now Rosen is in hiding for his life. Life was still good until Rosen helped some old timers get out of a burning hotel, and wound up getting his face in the papers. Now he's on the run in Israel with three killers on his tail and a U.S. Marine for company. The Marine wants to help. Maybe he should ask Rosen what happens to do-gooders.

Elmore Leonard in 1977 was still years away from being embraced for marrying suspense stories with witty dialogue, quirky characters, and off-center humor, but he was well on his way toward perfecting that approach when he wrote "The Hunted." In some ways echoing Leonard's past as a writer of westerns, with Mexican standoffs by dry wadis, "The Hunted" isn't exactly scintillating by Leonard's later standards, but it more than holds its own.

You can almost see Quentin Tarantino adapting it for the screen, with Rosen's way of wooing 40-something women to bed and characters who digress about God while waiting for the guns to start blazing. The bad guys are not without their enjoyable qualities, and there's Mel Bandy, a fat lawyer of no discernable morals whose idea of wooing an attractive assistant involves walking around her in a towel and inviting her to bed with him by telling her she can close her eyes and pretend it's someone else.

Leonard throws some nice philosophy here, too, though it doesn't get in the way of the terse narrative:

"Don't let people scare you; because nine times out of ten they don't know any more than you do," Rosen explains to the Marine. "Or even less. They got there pushing and shoving, acting, conning...If they had to get by on basic intelligence - most of the people I've done business with - they'd be on the street selling Good Humors and probably ------- up the change."

"The Hunted" didn't amuse me like great comic Leonard novels such as "Maximum Bob" and "Freaky Deaky." It didn't thrill like "Rum Punch" or "Bandits." The plot is actually kind of threadbare, and a little nonsensical, when you think about Rosen's unresolved financial situation and how it's supposed to be resolved by a visit from the untrustworthy Bandy.

But "The Hunted" manages to keep you reading, and surprises you more than a little at the end. You'll enjoy the amiable company of both the good guys and bad guys while appreciating Leonard's mastery of his craft. He hadn't entirely moved out of the Western idiom even as he left the American West, but considering that he was the author of westerns like "Hombre," why should he have been in any rush?

I was a little skeptical of an Elmore Leonard novel set in Israel. However, 'The Hunted' pleasantly surprised me.

Al Rosen is hiding out in Israel, living off the checks sent his way by the company he helped found. He spends his days hanging out in hotel lobbies, getting sun, and just simply staying out of sight. Before he knows it, he finds himself on the run after his picture appeared in the daily newspapers in the States--the result of having helped a dozen senior citizens escape a hotel fire.

Sgt. David Davis is about to finish his tour with the marines. The big problem is that he has no idea what to do with himself once he is out. On the side, he has helped deliver packages for Rosen, without really knowing who Rosen is. Before he knows it, his future plans are of no real concern as he attempts to help Rosen out of his mess.

I'll give Elmore credit, he took what I thought would be an uninteresting setting, and really turned it into something. There isn't a lot, but Leonard makes some interesting observations about Israel and Americans there. Most of it comes from the ignorance of some of the American characters as they interact with the Israelis.

The dialogue is classic Leonard. Some of the best conversations come between Rosen and Davis as Rosen attempts to give Davis advice on what to do when he finally gets out of the marines. Nearly every scene involving Mel Bandy, Rosen's sleazy lawyer (and he is sleazy), involve some comical dialogue. Rosen's assistant, Tali, has some decent remarks as she deals with Bandy and translates for others.

The only disappointment is the end. To some degree, it seems like Leonard just ran out of things to write about and came up with whatever plausible ending occurred to him. Still, its a good read and will be appreciated by Leonard fans.

This book was just okay for Elmore (which is still pretty damn good by anyone elses standards) but I found the ending paid off well - I should have seen it coming, but I didn't!

The Switch by Leonard has the base storyline use in the great 80s hit film "Ruthless People" with Danny Devito. Two hapless criminals kidnap the wife of a rich man and demand ransom- ransom he does not want to pay as they are embroiled in divorce proceedings. Set in the tony country club world of suburban Detroit this is classic Leonard. Wry, dry, ironic, funny and yet poignant at times. His characters come to life and stay with you.
Louis and his fellow ex-con buddy Ordell, re-team up in Rum Punch- the book another film was based on- "Jackie Brown".
Read a couple of Leonard novels and you will be coming back for more and more!

I haven't read a book in probably 5 years (having 2 children in that time frame will do that) but I was to pass this book along to my husband from his brother and wound up opening it and was hooked from the first line. Started it Thursday afternoon and finished Monday night. It kept me interested the whole time; I certainly can't recall a moment where I wished the book would move on. Looking forward to reading more of Leonard.

This one just seemed rushed to me. Usually when I read Leonard, I end up feeling like one of the characters. He makes you really feel his story with his characterizations and dialogue. Just too generic and formulaic. My wife read the blurb on the back and said "sounds like alot of other books" and she ended up being right. I like Rum Punch much better because it was more complex and we saw more of the same characters but got deeper into them.

I really like Elmore Leonard and have enjoyed and respected much of his work. But when reading this book I felt that Elmore had really mailed it in this time. The big "surprise" ending comes as no surprise, and the book fizzles rather than sizzles. In this book, the characters are more like cartoons than people. All in all, I was disappointed, and was glad when it was over so I could read something better.

Just so you know I'm not an Elmore basher, I just finished reading "The Hot Kid" and loved it.

This novel was definitely entertaining. It served its purpose. It gave me something to read that held my attention. As most Leonard novels, there is plenty of hip lines, drug use, sex, and of course the crime.

I do not generally enjoy Leonard's novels. I enjoy the movies that are made from them. After reading "Unknown Man #89" and being extremely disappointed, it has been a few years since I have even attempted to read one of his novels. I must say that I now know how to read a Leonard novel. Not expecting much!

The story starts off easy enough and runs smoothly. Not a time in the reading did I feel there was anything unnecessary or boring. The plot is not too original, but easy to accept as a possible real situation.

I would suggest this to anyone who is looking for something fun, quick, and easy to read. There is a lot of inappropriate sex and language, so not recommended for anyone under 17.

52 PICK UP is, like all of Elmore Leonard's novels, very well written. This book was originally written in the early 1970s, but holds up very well. With a few minor adjustments, it could take place in modern times.

The story essentially deals with a blackmail plot against an adulterous businessman in Detroit. The first half, which is very strong, shows how the businessman is blackmailed, and how he initially responds. The second half, which is far weaker, deals with how the businessman decides to strike back and take justice into his own hands.

The second half of 52-PICK UP is something of a letdown, because it is not particularly believable. Leonard sets up a great, realistic story in the first half, only to resolve the story with an "action movie" type conclusion that requires a major suspension of disbelief.

This novel is further hampered by the absence of any likable characters, with the exception of the wife of the protagonist. Many of the players in this book act in a venal, brutal manner toward one another. I understand that Leonard is trying to be dark and gritty, but the non-stop nastiness does get repetitious and tiresome after a while. This novel lacks the humor of Elmore Leonard's later work.

52 PICK UP is a decent early effort, but I'd recommend trying some of Leonard's later crime books first, or one of his westerns.

Too dark for my tastes. Needlessly exploitive and vulgar. The only redeeming social value was the fact that the protagonist truly suffered the consequences of adultery.

This was a 5 star thriller that fell apart at the end. 52 Pickup was written in the early 70s, so you have Leonard just as things are really starting to roll for him. Great dialogue, great characters, with crime, adultery, and porn spicing the stew. It's also one of Leonard's most brutal novels. There is one murder that is just shocking, but there is also the suggestion of sodomized rape as part of a kidnapping. You really hate the bad guys in this one. The hero, Harry Mitchell, is standard flawed good guy stuff. He's doing a slow burn while dealing with his problem -- which is his own doing, a twist for Leonard fans. The ramifications of this problem, Harry's adultery, and how it touches (and ends!)so many lives is the effective subtext of the novel. The exchanges between Harry and Barbara, Mitchell's wife, are a good showcase for those that appreciate Leonard's mastery of dialogue. But what makes them a bit different than other Leonard exchanges, is that the topic is adultery, and how a married couple tries to deal with betrayal and damaged love.

The downside: the ending. It's not just that it's something of a disappointing demise for the main bad guy. (You'd like to see Harry do something with drills and blowtorches.) No, the ending is just clumsy and from a writing view point, and not well executed. And, perhaps worse, just not believable. The exchange (or the obviously ironic "pickup" or payoff), is so clunky, that no bad guy, especially a Leonard bad guy, would of been fooled. But maybe that's the point, there is no neat package of an ending, since Harry's "mistake" was the first domino. He will have to live with the damage he has caused, especially to his wife and his deal lover the rest of his life.

How does one go about judging a suspense novel? The easiest criteria is probably the level of difficulty you have in putting the book down because of how heavily you get hooked into the plot. By this standard, Elmore Leonard's '52 Pickup' was a great novel. I read the entire 300+ pages in two sittings, which could have easily been condensed into one had I not forced myself to put it down the first time knowing I needed something to read on a 4-hour flight the next day. Leonard writes great characters, even better dialogue, and creates a thrilling cat-and-mouse game where the hero and villains are constantly gaining and losing the upper hand against each other. Watching the hero of this novel, Harry Mitchell, struggle to balance running his successful business amidst the threat of a union slowdown, reconciling his marriage after confessing to his ill-advised affair, and dealing with three thugs who are trying to extort large sums of money from him, made for some very entertaining reading.

There is another standard for judging a suspense novel that I found '52 Pickup' wasn't as successful at, which is the level of believability. The problem I had with this novel was that for the ending to work required that the respective IQ's of the three main villains had to abruptly drop about 100 points each. I just found it odd that three guys who so expertly planned their crimes in the early portion of the novel would suddenly become so gullible later in the same book. I'm not saying that Mitchell's method of dealing with his extortionists was completely unrealistic, just that I thought everything sort of fell into place too easily. In particular, I found it hard to believe that a criminal as intelligent as Alan Raimy would have been so careless in the final scene of the book. Also, while Leonard wisely made Mitchell a former war hero to make his grace under pressure a bit more realistic, I did find it to be a bit much how he seemingly never felt fear, no matter how grave his situation became.

I generally don't read genre fiction, but I wanted a change and I had seen all the blurbs claiming how great Elmore Leonard writes. Labrava is mentioned sometimes as one of his best. I found it mildly entertaining, with a few interesting characters and decent dialog. Nothing profound or insightful or really worth my time though. Yes, there is that lure of the intricate plot that had me wanting to read just to find out how the author was going to wrap up all the various threads. The suspense wasn't very high, but consistent until the end. His bad guys seem more real than the others. I felt the ending was a letdown, but that didn't really matter too much since after reading the book I simply didn't care. I'm glad I only paid 50 cents for the paperback at a yard sale. I don't think it is a bad book, but I think it has convinced me that crime books aren't worth reading. A good trashy novel occasionally is fine, but this one just isn't fun enough as maybe most crime novels aren't.

what's going on? page after page, nada. i think e.l. should abandon his cool-wannabe long time ago. he's writing a lota junk lately. it's about time to hang up his pen, typewriter, or microsoft office word program and go fishing. if you think you could get something meaningful or worthy out of this book, you should go to the beach with a metal detector and become a beach comber, maybe you could get some nickles and dimes, but definitely no paper money. one star is too much. and, my god, 'the best novel of the year'? did it mean during the whole year this 'book of nothing' published, not one other book ever printed and published?

. . . anyone in this story, but the story is told well.

Cast of Characters:
Joe LaBrava - former Secret Service agent, now up-and-coming artistic photographer
Maurice - tough old guy, who might be rich, and who owns a hotel
Jean Shaw - former movie star, now retired, but still very attractive
Richard Nobles - tough, cop wanna-be, now a security guard and possible con artist (or worse)
Cundo Rey - Cuban refugee, exotic dancer, possible con man (or worse)
Franny - young local artist, cosmetics salesperson

Setting: Miami Beach, Florida, in the 1990's (about)

Story: Jean calls her old friend, Maurice, to say she's in trouble. Maurice and Joe find her in a County de-tox clinic, but the drinking isn't the real problem. Richard has gotten mixed up with a security guard, Richard, and now he is getting too friendly and possessive. But, if that's all there was, the story would be over soon. Richard and Cundo are cooking up a scheme to steal money from Jean, whom they believe is rich. But, is there a silent third partner, a mastermind? Joe, Jean, Maurice try to figure out what's really going on, and protect Jean, with help from Joe's police friends and street contacts (as a roving photographer, he has gotten to know lots of people). Meanwhile, Joe might be in love with Jean, whom he idolized as a movie star, but Joe might also be falling in love with Franny. And, what about Maurice and Jean?

I really like the complexity of these characters. Joe is the protagonist, and is basically a good guy and a nice guy, but he will solve this mystery, no matter ho or what gets in his way. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, but . . . . Maurice is old, but refuses to accept it. He might or might not be rich. Jean is beautiful and seductive, but is real, or is it all acting? Does she even know? Richard is trying to be clever and tough and a big-time schemer, but he doesn't quite have the full capability to be any of that to the degree he wishes or thinks he is. Cundo is smooth and slick and charming, but never turn your back on him, as he intends to survive, at any cost.

The plot also has a fair amount of complexity, with the whole situation unfolding gradually, to reveal some genuine surprises. The pace of the writing, though, is a bit uneven, with several slow spots, and a slight tendency to overdo the level of descriptive detail, at the occasional expense of the action.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, and it would make a good movie.

I haven't liked all of Elmore Leonard's novels, but I've enjoyed a lot of them. La Brava is Dutch's (his nickname) best.

I first read La Brava when I was in a catch-up and read all of Dutch's books about five or six years ago. I went on this Leonard reading frenzy after a friend of mine told me something I was writing reminded him of second rate Elmore. I wound agreeing with my friend and tossing that project aside. Leonard isn't known for writing overly complex or gimmicky novels. His narratives are short and to the point. He avoids fancy prose and concentrates on his shady characters and shows us who they are by what they do and how they talk.

The characters are why anyone who likes Leonard, reads Leonard. Leonard generally chooses characters that few would make `heroes' of in their novels. Sleazy characters, low-lifes, good for nothings, three time losers, cheaters, petty criminals, blackmailers, alcoholics, hustlers, drifters and killers are front and center of most of Leonard's novels. He doesn't show them going through a make-over or redemption (usually). He gets inside these people's heads and concocts scenarios for them to act within. Sometimes the scenarios are pretty outrageous, sometimes they are pretty straightforward.

You usually dislike most if not all of the central characters in a Leonard novel. You grow to understand them, perhaps pity them, but you usually don't wind up liking them very much. What's amazing, is how Leonard usually makes you care about them.

In most of his novels, he really presents believable and authentic characters. These characters walk the walk and talk like they really talk. They say and do dumb things. They usually aren't too bright and when they think they are-they usually do something really stupid. Sometimes the characters have some like-able traits or attempt to conform to some strange code of ethics or morals that is rationalized internally to almost make sense (for the character).

A lot of his novels don't have incredible or over-the top memorable endings. His novels are closer to slices of life, than genre fiction tends to be. There might be some twists and turns in the story, but they are not set up by Leonard to be big surprises or create surprising revelations. This tends to divide audiences. A lot of people just don't understand why Leonard is well liked by critics as well as a huge following of fans. I hope lot of people who have decided not to like Leonard will read La Brava. It's his best.

His books aren't long, and they are generally pretty fast reads, full of lots of dialogue. Snappy, realistic dialogue that sometimes is very clever... but not clever at the expense of betraying the characters. For those that read several Leonard's in a row, you'll discover that sometimes characters from a previous book will make a cameo appearance in another book. The cameo appearance is a fun thing to spot and never is done as a gimmick but because it works perfectly and makes good sense. You would never realize the characters' baggage or background from the cameo appearance, but if you recognize the character from a previous (or future) novel, knowing more about the character adds an incredible depth and richness to the story. It's a wonderful inside treat for Leonard fans, and one that non-fans need not anything about. A customer at a bar might be an expert at spotting counterfeit bills. You don't need to know the customer was in another novel as a counterfeiter and what happened to him, but if you do, it makes the inclusion of the customer a special treat.

La Brava in some ways was a bit of a departure for Leonard. His protagonist Joe LaBrava is not only fairly likeable, but is also working at a legitimate profession. Joe LaBrava is an independent photographer who has started his life over again in South Miami Beach. He likes his life and likes where he is. Most Leonard characters are full of conflicts and often involved in illegal activities.

Joe LaBrava has a past, but it's as an ex-Secret Service agent-not as a bad guy or mob informant. LaBrava is damaged goods, to be sure, but he's someone most readers will like and root for.

He lives in a hotel that's owned by an elderly friend name Maurice. LaBrava meets a former movie glamour queen Jean Shaw. LaBrava had a crush on Jean Shaw when her first saw her at the movies as a teenager. That was then, now Shaw is an alcoholic and is being drawn into an extortion scheme which will soon involve Maurice and LaBrava. The local characters we meet are colorful, realistic and always compelling. There's a red neck former cop, who may or may not be a very dangerous character, a Cuban refugee go-go dancer who has killed to stay alive and many more. As the mechanics of the scheme slowly unfold, the characters drive the plot to a very logical and somewhat expected conclusion. Along the way were are treated to some of Leonard's sharpest and best dialogue and character ruminations he's ever written. Although some of this may sound like it border on the cliche, in Leonard's hands nothing could be further from the truth.

The novel was originally published in 1983, and like a lot of Leonard novels it was going to be the basis of a movie which was never made. A lot of his books have become movies, some he's written or contributed to the screenplays of and a lot of them he has not. One of his books Fifty-Two Pick Up (good book) has been the basis for two movies. One was called The Ambassador (with Robert Mitchum and Rock Hudson) and is not very faithful to the novel (and not a very good movie), and the other is Fifty-Two Pickup with Roy Scheider and Ann Margaret which is closer to the book, but still not a complete success.

Leonard began his career in fiction by writing Western short stories for pulp magazines in the 1950's. He graduated to writing western novels like The Bounty Hunters, Escape from Five Shadows and then Hombre, and Valdez is Coming. Then he began writing novels like The Big Bounce, Mr. Majestyk, Unknown Man No 89 and City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.

Lately he's been receiving even more attention than in the past because finally Hollywood turned a couple of his books into good movies. Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Jackie Brown. Out of Sight in fact is a much better movie, then it is a novel.

He's up to about 36 novels now and more than half of them are certainly worth reading.

Among his worst are: Killshot and Riding the Rap. Among his best are : Freaky Deaky, Fifty-Two Pickup, Rum Punch(which was the basis for the film Jackie Brown), City Primeval, and my favorite: La Brava.

Christopher J. Jarmick - Author (The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder Available as a pre-order now !!!)

A novelist should include a clever and unique take on a familiar idea if s/he is going to stick to a formula when writing. Leonard fails to do that here. The story is predictable, disappointing and frankly boring.
Leonard has written the dialogue in some incomprehensible colloquial babble that occasionally loses its meaning. The characters are all uninteresting with the exception of the villain's sidekick and he doesn't feature enough in the story.
To be fair the book does deliver a nice surprise in the middle but then the book meanders along and finishes with a ridiculous tie up that leaves one shaking one's head wondering if Leonard was as bored of the book as I was.